How to work with Muslim countries

If you open any guide or listen to speakers’ speeches, you will definitely hear that understanding the target audience is one of the foundations of a successful launch. And while the specifics of the target audience in GEO are more standard issues of test scores, gender, and age, the issue of religion is much more complicated.

In Ukraine, the attitude towards Muslims is extremely stereotypical and often even offensive to these people. And this definitely does not have a positive impact on affiliate marketing approaches.

That is why today Affhub has prepared a special project for you on how to work with Muslim countries. To make it easier for you to understand how Muslims live, what they care about, and what approaches to advertising for them to use. Let’s go!

Muslim countries: what are this GEO?

First, let’s get some general information that gives an idea of Islam as a religion. To begin with, Islam is one of the three most widespread faiths in the world. In terms of the number of followers, Islam is second only to Christianity, and in terms of percentage, 23% to 26% of the world’s population identify themselves as Muslims (imagine the amount of traffic we’re talking about).

The Islamic community, called the Ummah, covers more than 120 countries, mostly in Asia and North Africa. Specifically, here are the top 10 countries by the number of Muslims:

• Indonesia – 205 million;
• Pakistan – 178 million;
• India – 177 million;
• Bangladesh – 149 million;
• Egypt – over 80 million;
• Nigeria – 76 million;
• Iran – 75 million;
• Turkey – about 75 million;
• Algeria – 35 million;
• Morocco – 32 million.

Some of the above mentioned GEOs are very popular in affiliate marketing. Some other countries not mentioned, such as Saudi Arabia or the UAE, have no less demand, a high standard of living, and, accordingly, simply cannot be ignored by arbitrageurs. The question arises as to what is so special about Muslims that complicates the process of incorporation.

What problems may arise when entering into arbitration with Muslim countries

As we have already noted, in Ukraine, Islam is treated with certain stereotypes that can complicate the work of arbitrators. One of the reasons is the low prevalence of this religion in Ukraine. Currently, there are about 500 thousand Muslims in Ukraine, most of whom are representatives of the Crimean Tatars. The fact that Ukrainians rarely come into contact with Muslims is precisely the reason for such stereotypes.

It should be noted that the following advice will be more general. After all, the situation in Muslim countries may differ not only depending on the GEO, but even on the regions of the country. Ukraine is a vivid example of this situation, where the population of the west of the country is generally considered to be more religious. The situation is similar in some Muslim countries.

So, the first thing that can hinder your successful entry is a lack of understanding of the mentality of people who practice Islam. This applies to almost any vertical – from the fact that Muslims are not allowed to play in casinos to the censorship of adult websites. In many countries, both the first and second resources can be blocked due to internal censorship.

But this does not mean that the population is not interested in such services. Christianity also has a negative attitude towards gambling or any products of the addictive vertical. However, if everyone followed these rules, gambling, betting, data mining, and other gray verticals would simply not exist.

Yes, it is undoubtedly much easier to pour guts or goods into Muslim countries – this is already a certain axiom in the world of affiliate marketing. But Muslims, like Christians, also love gambling, want to enjoy all the benefits of adalt, and generally do things that are morally or legally prohibited.

But at the same time, it is very naïve to believe that religion does not have an impact on the ability to enter these verticals in a country. After all, in countries where the predominant religion is Islam, in most cases, there are very limited legal opportunities for these verticals. Accordingly, you need to take these nuances into account when entering. This can at least affect the frequency of blocking your accounts – Facebook is known to try to comply with local laws in any GEO.

Another difficulty in reaching out to Muslim countries is the difference between their lifestyles and the Western world. As an example, while in the West, all efforts are being made to establish equality, in many Muslim countries, strict patriarchy still exists. It is everyone’s choice to condemn them or not, but this is their style and life, and we must take this into account if we plan to pour into these countries.

The simplest example is that in some Muslim countries, all family money belongs to the husband. And if a wife wants to buy something, she has to ask her husband for it. This partially complicates the work for those goods or services where women are the target. After all, it is not only women who need to be convinced to make a purchase, but also their husbands.

In addition, due to historical peculiarities, including a large number of wars, Muslims are generally considered to be more rigid. But this is more of a stereotype that only affects the national consciousness of the population. Thus, countries that have long fought for their independence have a high level of national consciousness. And in most countries of these regions, the use of national symbols should be extremely cautious. At the same time, for the same reasons, the national language is one of the most important aspects of a successful infusion.

These are the general rules. Of course, there are other nuances that can affect the quality of your fill. For example:

• Religious holidays. On some of these holidays, pouring on any vertical is just a waste of budgets. Traditionally, Muslims around the world celebrate two main holidays: the feast of fasting (Eid al-Fitr) and the feast of sacrifice (Eid al-Adha). Every year the dates of these holidays differ, so it’s important to keep your finger on the pulse every time;
• Symbols. In Islam, some symbols have ambiguous meanings that may seem strange to us. For example, the left hand is considered dirty in Islam because it is used to wash the face. Similarly, dogs are considered dirty animals. Therefore, their images can be perceived extremely negatively (this is about working with creatives);
• Magic. Sikhr, or magic, is one of the most terrible sins in the Islamic faith. Accordingly, such verticals are not the best option for entering Islamic countries. Of course, there are people who are more neutral about this. However, you should be careful with the use of various magical accessories.

At the same time, it should be understood that some “universal tips” are not universal at all. For example, you can often find information that it is better not to use naked body parts on creatives when you are casting in Muslim countries. Indeed, in some GEOs this is true.

However, for some reason, it often comes to an absurd stereotype that Muslims do not accept such content at all. Turkey is one example that breaks this stereotype. The reasons seem to be clear to everyone.

Which verticals work best in Muslim countries

The easiest option in Muslim countries is the commodity, gut, and e-commerce. People are sick, they buy online. And there is no ban on these verticals as such. Of course, there may be some restrictions. But in general, these are the easiest verticals to enter Muslim countries.

As for gambling and betting. The universal advice is to be careful. As we have already noted, Muslims are the same people. They also play in casinos, like to bet on their favorite team, etc. And it is not difficult to find this audience – the supply of relevant services in the Muslim market is limited, but the demand is mostly there.

But at the same time, the national legislation of many Muslim countries does not allow gambling, or severely restricts it. This greatly complicates the work of arbitrators.

By the way, the situation with crypto is similar – if we talk about Muslim believers, investments for them are also very limited from the point of view of religion. And crypto is a subject of great debate as to whether it is haram or halal. So, again, to summarize, binary options and futures are usually classified as prohibited investment instruments because they are equated with gambling. In contrast, classic spot trading is permitted from the investment point of view.

Daytrading in Muslim countries also has its own peculiarities. If we are talking about really religiously-minded Muslims, then you really need to be careful with the content, such as naked body parts or the like. At the same time, in most countries, it is more of a stereotype, and classical approaches are more or less applicable.

Instead of conclusions, how do you work with Muslim countries?

Be careful. This is the first and key rule of working with such GEOs. Before entering Muslim countries, you should spend more time understanding the local population and their mentality. Find out how people feel about this or that vertical, when they celebrate major national holidays, etc.

Muslim countries are a huge pool of GEOs, most of whom have good money. And to ignore these countries is to lose big profits. At the same time, due to a simple lack of understanding of the local flavor, arbitrators from the CIS are simply afraid to work with such GEOs, and for good reason. A few weeks to understand all the nuances of the local population can be your gold mine. So study, test, and enjoy the ROI!